Commerce COMPETES Report: BTOP is Building Infrastructure for the 21st Century

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The U.S Department of Commerce today released a comprehensive report on “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.” 

Part of the report explores the federal role in providing a 21^st century infrastructure and highlights Administration efforts already underway, including NTIA’s BTOP program, which is expanding broadband access and adoption in communities across the country. 

These projects are already having a positive impact on the lives of Americans: new public computer centers are open, free computer classes and job-trainings are underway, and infrastructure projects are under construction. Already, grantees in NTIA’s BTOP program say that they have deployed or upgraded more than 29,000 miles of broadband infrastructure and installed more than 24,000 workstations in public computer centers. In the last quarter, grantees provided more than 755,000 hours of training to around 220,000 participants.  And grantees say that their programs have already led to a total of more than 230,000 new broadband subscribers.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Anna Gomez discusses the important role of broadband Internet in boosting America’s competitiveness. (Video Transcript)

We encourage you to explore the web site and learn more about the importance of digital infrastructure to America's competitiveness. The full report, as well as additional resources, can be found online at www.commerce.gov/competes.